


Fish Out Of Water

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Covid-19 Related, Crack Treated Seriously, Established Relationship, Fluff and Crack, Jedi Ben Solo, Light Angst, M/M, Mentioned Biphobia, Pilot Poe Dameron, Young Ben Solo, Young Love, Young Poe Dameron, mentioned Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Ben and Poe go on a date, pre-Ben’s fall, to get copies of the new Poe Dameron book.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Ben Solo, Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren
Kudos: 3
Collections: The Darkpilot Library, Trope Bingo: Round Fifteen





	Fish Out Of Water

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Established Relationship
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of COVID-19 and LGBT+ phobia. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Because I am extremely excited/nervous for Poe Dameron: Free Fall. Also, some of the details are my own wishful thinking.

It had been Poe’s idea, to take them on this date. Even looking around, Ben noticed that it was so much different than other planets he knew — unfamiliar vehicles, buildings...  
  
“So I have a question, Ben,” Poe said. “Does Earth still have bookstores? I mean, from what I heard, they’ve been making a lot of the move to digital.”  
  
Ben furrowed his brow, trying to remember what he had read of the planet in his studies. “Well,” he said, “From what I can gather, stores like Barnes and Noble are still standing.”  
  
”That’s good. Cultural relics and all that.” Poe took a deep breath. “Gotta say, I’m not used to the beard. Are you sure this’ll be convincing?”  
  
”Pretty sure.” Ben smiled over at him. Bearded or clean-shaven, Poe was beautiful beyond compare.   
  
“The blond hair and glasses were a nice touch,” Poe said. “For you.”  
  
Ben snorted. “Hopefully it’s convincing.”  
  
They headed into Barnes and Noble just then, and it was there that Ben’s breathing hitched as he took in the books.  
  
“Oh, they’re beautiful!” he said. “P — John, did you ever think of telling me about this?”  
  
“So you like it?” Poe sounded so excited then, and that smile, that radiant smile — it really did make Ben want to kiss his lover senseless in the middle of a bookstore.   
  
"I love it.” Ben beamed at him, and there was something about that moment that made Ben feel more comfortable coming here already.   
  
***  
  
 _Freefall_ was easy to find, Ben thought even as they picked it up — apparently, they were the first people there, miraculously avoiding the stampede of people.  
  
“Thank t — God,” Ben said, and already he had to wince a little at saying the unfamiliar expression. Who named their deity God? It was like naming a kath hound “Hound”. Then again, maybe Earth people didn’t think twice about it. Or they were woefully uncreative.   
  
Poe looked over the cover critically. “Well, it doesn’t quite look like m — him, but it’s a good cover.”  
  
“To be fair,” Ben said, “Trying to capture a breathtakingly beautiful man may very well be a challenge.”  
  
Poe smiled at him. It was clear he understood what Ben meant — and appreciated the compliment.   
  
“You know, Kyle,” he said, “We have time. We could always check out the other books they’ve got here...”  
  
***  
  
They took the time while they were there to put on masks as well, as apparently Earth was going through some sort of pandemic. Ben felt like it made him look like one of those Old Republic Dark Jedi, but safety first.  
  
Checking out the other books — Ben wasn’t aware that there were apparently books about parallel galaxies where he wasn’t Han or Leia’s son. A story about a man named Jacen turning to the Dark Side.   
  
“Oh God,” Ben groaned, “They made him a _politician?”_  
  
Poe snorted. “Your mother’s a politician.”  
  
“Yes, and I think it’s beneath her.” The truth was, Ben already felt a sort of discontent with the galaxy, the fact that it was so broken and even his mother, who he’d seen as invincible when he was a child, couldn’t fix everything.   
  
Poe sighed. “Touché. But yeah, we could just skip that one. Keep browsing.”  
  
They couldn’t really find any good new books, but he did find some books by an author named Stephen King. Ben bought The Dark Tower books; he didn’t think he’d be able to actually read stuff like Pet Sematary, which turned him off just from the book summary. (Seriously, was Stephen King secretly a Dark Sider?)  
  
It was going up to the front desks that the clerk (female, clearly a high school student trying to get by) accepted the cash they’d managed to earn before coming to Earth (Uncle Luke had said they didn’t accept credits) and said, “I hope I’m not bothering you, but you picked out Freefall? That’s great!”  
  
“Yeah,” Ben said. “We’re big sci-fi fans.”  
  
“That’s wonderful!” said the clerk. "It’s good that you can still have a date during this pandemic. I’m honestly hoping that Darkpilot gets some page time.”  
  
“Darkpilot?” Poe said.   
  
“Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron.”  
  
Ben furrowed his brow. Was there a conceivable future where he didn’t somehow stay with Poe? In an ideal galaxy, he’d stay with Poe forever.   
  
“Oh, he used to be Han and Leia’s son, Ben,” the clerk said. “Then he...fell. There’s been theories that he and Poe Dameron used to be friends, if not more.”  
  
“Really? Interesting.” It was the best substitute for wanting to say they were all true.   
  
“There’s been rumors about Ben getting a cameo in Free Fall,” the clerk said.   
  
“Is that so?” Ben said.   
  
“Yeah. Of course, the Reylos are going to lose their minds; they don’t like the idea of Ben being anything but straight as an arrow...”  
  
“Well, these Reylos are...mistaken,” Poe said. It sounded like he was about to say something stronger than that. “Tell you what. It doesn’t matter what’s on page. If you believe in something, really believe in it, more power to you. I bet you could write it better than anyone could package it.”  
  
“Really?” It was worth it, Ben thought, seeing her eyes brighten, feeling her excitement through the Force. Damn good kid, he thought. Damn good.   
  
“Yeah.”  
  
They paid for their books, and the clerk reminded them to stay healthy even as they headed out.   
  
***  
  
It was a relief, Ben thought, when they got back to the Grimtaash and blasted into hyperspace. Poe sighed as he took off his mask, and as Ben took off his. “Y’know,” Poe said, “I hope it was a good first date. I wasn’t really counting on landing in the middle of a pandemic.”  
  
“Not your fault. It was still a good date.” Ben took a deep breath. “We’ll always be all right, right? You and me?” Maybe it was just the possibility that they wouldn’t end up happy that made him more than a bit anxious.   
  
Poe smiled at him. “We will, Ben. Now...why don’t we finish this off by reading our books? Seeing what they got right and wrong?”  
  
Ben chuckled. “I’d love that.”


End file.
